Defender Kyle Hiebert, who helped expansion club St. Louis City SC start their first MLS season with a 4-0 record, got the call from Canada head coach John Herdman , with a view to Concacaf Nations League matches.
The 25-year-old Manitoban will replace injured CF Montreal defender Kamal Miller.
Ranked 53rd in the world, the Canadian men’s team will face Curaçao (86th) away on Saturday before hosting Honduras (81st) on Tuesday at BMO Field in Toronto.
These will be Canada’s first games since the FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
This is the first recall to the senior team for Hiebert, who has played every minute this season to help St. Louis become the first expansion team in MLS history to win its first four games.
Canada (1-0-1) sit second in League A Group C, between Honduras (2-0-1) and Curaçao (1-0-2). The Canadians opened the tournament last June by shutting out Curaçao 4-0 in Vancouver before losing 2-1 to Honduras.
The Canadian team is currently training in the Miami area before leaving for Curacao on Thursday.
The four group winners of League A will advance to the semi-finals of the Nations League, in Las Vegas. The Canadians failed to break into the semi-finals in the tournament’s first outing, finishing second in their pool behind eventual champions USA.
Canada can secure qualification for the Concacaf Championship with a draw on Saturday.
Skipped in the 2022 MLS Draft despite a stellar college career at Missouri State, Hiebert turned heads in the MLS Next Pro league with the St. Louis reserve team last year. He was rewarded with a two-year contract plus an option year with the professional team in August.
St. Louis began their MLS run with a 3-2 victory over Austin FC before beating Charlotte FC 3-1 in front of 22,423 cheering fans at CityPark. The expansion club went on to defeat the Portland Timbers and San Jose Earthquakes.
There was a vacancy in central defense this season, as Swede Joakim Nilsson recovers from a long-term knee injury. Hiebert teamed up with Tim Parker and Lucas Bartlett in the heart of the St. Louis defense.
Hiebert had a rocky start to his college career at Missouri State, missing the 2015 and 2016 seasons due to knee injuries.
Upon his return to health, Hiebert made 86 starts for Missouri State and was named Missouri Valley Conference Defenseman of the Year three times.
On two occasions, Hiebert was named one of 15 semi-finalists for the MAC Hermann Trophy, awarded to the NCAA’s Most Valuable Player.
Hiebert joins goalkeeper Tom McGill and midfielder Victor Loturi among the players who received a first cap with Canada’s senior team.
Hiebert represented Canada at the under-18 level.
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